The Best Way
by KB Twilight
Summary: Doumeki knows what's going on, Watanuki's still trying to figure it out. Donuts implied.
1. The Best Way

**Title**: The Best Way  
**Author**: **kbtwilight**  
**Fandom**: xxxHolic  
**Prompt**: 033 _"The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity." -Francis Maitland Balfour_  
**Claim**: General for Tsubasa RC and xxxHolic  
**Completed**: 2/200  
**Rating/Warnings**: PG/Slash (implied), Spoilers through Volume Nine... maybe more  
**Word Count**: 451  
**Summary**: Doumeki knows what's going on, Watanuki's still trying to figure it out.  
**Notes**: There are two reasons you should be kind to me for this. It's my first xxxHolic fanfic and it was finished at 2:45 this morning when my insomia decided to have its way with me.  
**Disclaimer**: These dears belong to CLAMP not to me. No copywrite infringement was intended.

It was too quiet. Things were never supposed to be that quiet if Watanuki Kimihiro was anywhere in the area. Things were especially not supposed to be this quite when he, Doumeki Shizuka, was also in said area. It was unnatural , and it was making aforementioned archer nervous, not that anyone could tell.

"Oi."

"My name's not 'oi.'" The familiar reply would have been comforting if it had had any heat behind it. Instead the bespectacled boy sounded very distracted.

"What happened?" Watanuki turned to face him finally, confusion in his heterochromatic eyes. "What makes you think something happened?"

"You're quiet." There was the tantrum he had been waiting for. Doumeki went back to eating his bentou, momentarily content. Then the silence came back, forcing Doumeki's attention back to the other boy. It was a few minutes before Watanuki spoke.

"It's just… Yuuko-san said something." Ah, SHE was involved, that explained it. "To a customer." The smaller boy added quickly. That part was an obvious lie but the archer waited for him to continue nonetheless.

Watanuki took a deep breath and plunged forward, "He had this friend, but their relationship had changed and he wasn't sure how act around them anymore." Doumeki couldn't see Yuuko giving out relationship advice, to a customer (who would probably look for it somewhere else) or otherwise. "She said that in order for them to move forward he needed to figure out what their new relationship was, _then_ I could figure out how to treat them."

The smaller boy was steadfastly refusing to make eye contact so Doumeki was relatively certain he was talking about the two of them. He was aware of what direction their relationship was going in, he was… happy with it. Watanuki had just asked to be clued in, since he apparently couldn't figure it out on his own. Doumeki knew that the smaller boy hadn't figured out yet what had changed; he was still getting those curious looks rather than mad blushes temper tantrums of a greater volume. Glancing up from his bentou, Doumeki considered explaining the new status quo, then he mentally smirked, it would be more entertaining when he figured it out on his own.

"Don't know about the relationship part but 'the best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.'"

Watanuki was giving him a very odd look when he finished. He was silence for a minute before mutter, "sounds like something Haruka-san would say."

"Nah, just some guy."


	2. Change

**Title**: Change  
**Author**: **kbtwilight**  
**Fandom**: xxxHolic  
**Prompt**: 027 _"It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not." - James Gordon._  
**Claim**: General for Tsubasa RC and xxxHolic  
**Completed**: 5/200  
**Rating/Warnings**: PG/Slash (Donuts), spoilers through current chapters. I was just going to leave this at the last chapter, but I figured it could use an ending.  
**Word Count**: 764  
**Summary**: Watanuki finally figures it out... with some help.  
**Notes**: I'm not sure how I feel about the beginning of this one, but I thought it ending worked out pretty well.  
**Disclaimer**: CLAMP owns them...

Watanuki scowled as he packed away his book and reached to get the empty bentou from under his desk. Lately, his and Doumeki's relationship had taken an unexpected turn, though in what direction he wasn't sure. He had been hoping the archer himself would shed some light on the situation, but he had just spouted some Haruka-san-like quote at him and gone back to eating Watanuki's bentou

He was concentrating so hard on his dilemma that he couldn't even get properly excited about walking home alone with Himawari-chan. Doumeki had practice. The dark haired girl was waiting for him at the school entrance. He gave her the best greeting he could muster, and the two started walking.

"Watanuki-kun, has something been bothering you?" The bespectacled boy began to deny any such "botherance" vigorously, all while laughing nervously in his head, 'Am I really that transparent?'

"You can tell me," she said softly. He stopped talking instantly. He knew that, even though had had told her firmly that it didn't matter to him, Himawari-chan still didn't really trust herself to be around him. He knew that it would mean a lot to her for Watanuki to confide his problems in her. He hesitated. What could it hurt?

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Watanuki wondered where to begin. He couldn't tell her the same lie he had given Doumeki, besides, the other boy hadn't really seemed to buy it.

After a few minutes more hesitation, in which Himawari-chan waited patiently, he decided the best thing he could tell her was the truth.

He turned off the road and lead the unlucky girl to the park, he figured he would need to sit down and that Yuuko could just wait a few more minutes for her sake. Himawari-chan followed him happily and the two of them made their way to the nearest park bench. One Watanuki recognized with a pang of regret. Sitting down, he took another deep breath before plunging forward.

"I-it's… Doumeki." Himawari-chan seemed frustratingly unsurprised, he sighed. "Something has changed ever since…" A shadow pasted over the brunette's eyes and he hurried on, "Something's different between us and I'm not sure what it is. I don't know how to act around him." She gave him a smile he would almost call sad.

"You really don't know?" He stared at her in shock. Was he the only one that didn't know? Yuuko-san knew, Moro-chan and Maru-chan had been singing gleefully when he asked her that morning so they probably knew, Doumeki knew, Himawari-chan knew; why was he the only one that couldn't figure it out?! Himarwari-chan gave him a brighter smile and said in a slow, meaningful voice, "Watanuki-kun and Doumeki-kun really are good friends." She paused, "_More_ than good friends." Then she was gone, walking away from that park bench that held so many memories.

-.-.-.-

Watanuki barely remembered making dinner that night. He brought Yuuko-san sake without admonishment and cleaned without complaint. He probably would have agreed to any insane errand without thinking about it, had Yuuko-san any errands that needing running.

Himawari-chan couldn't have meant what he thought she meant. There was no way. No possible way in this world, or in any of the world's Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun had traveled to. He barely even liked the guy. He was not in love with Doumeki Shizuka.

He began scrubbing the dishes with more fervor as he attempted to will this thought away. It wasn't, possible. Or was it? Try as he might, he couldn't get those three words to leave his head. Was it possible?

He thought about the way he felt everytime Doumeki got hurt on his behalf and… it hurt. It was true that the two had gotten closer ever since Doumeki had shared his blood to keep Watanuki alive, but that didn't necessarily have to mean they… liked each other… like _that_.

…but it was possible.

-.-.-.-

Doumeki hadn't been expecting Watanuki to barge into his room quiet so late at night, though he had given him permission. He also wasn't expecting the bentou that was unceremoniously shoved in his face by a blushing Watanuki. Ah, he had figured it out.

"Took you long enough."

"You could have just told me you know!" For once, Doumeki didn't plug his ears, but rather smiled at Watanuki's tantrum. He opened the bentou, probably leftovers but better than anything he could make, and took a bite of inari sushi.

"More interesting to watch you figure it out on your own." The bag that hit him upside the head didn't even hurt.


End file.
